LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 22, 2001- 3A
CAMPUS
Culture Bus to
* visit Pewabic
Pottery in Detroit
This week's Culture Bus destination
will be the nonprofit organization
Pewabic Pottery. The organization's
mission is to promote the ideals of
arts and crafts through educational
and outreach programs.
The field trip coincides with the
University's 300 Detroit Theme
Semester in honor of Detroit's 300th
anniversary. Following the tour the
bus will stop for dinner in Greektown.
The culture bus will visit Pewabic
Pottery at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. All
Culture Bus tours will leave from the
University Museum of Art at 525 S.
State St. and is free to all University
students, faculty and staff.
School of Info to
host open house
The School of Information will hold
its annual open house to inform stu-
dents on careers in information profes-
sions and master's or doctoral degrees.
Students completing their under-
graduate studies or who have earned a
bachelor's degree and are interested in
graduate programs are encouraged to
attend. Visitors to the open house will
meet faculty, staff and current stu-
dents of the school. The open house
will be held Saturday from 1:30 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m. at the School of Informa-
tion, located in West Hall.
Series on autism
begins this week
Catherine Lord, director of the
Autism and Communication Disor-
ders Centers, will discuss the educa-
tional intervention for children with
autism Thursday. Lord will give a
speech titled "Early Intervention for
Children with Autism Spectrum Dis-
orders: The National Academies of
Science 2001 Report." The lecture is
geared towards educators, clinicians
and parents with autistic children.
The lecture will be held at the Kel-
logg Eye Center in the Oliphant Mar-
shall Auditorium beginning at 4 p.m.
This is the first in a series of talks
regarding autism sponsored by the
University's Institute for Human
Adjustment.
Poverty, abuse to
be focus of Friday
conference at 'U,
The Trapped by Poverty/Trapped by
Abuse Third Research. Conference
will feature Peter Edelman, a profes-
sor of law at Georgetown University,
who will discuss what needs to be
done in order to put an end to poverty.
Prof. Edelman was a top aide to
former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and
the assistant secretary for Planning
and Evaluation in the U.S. Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services.
The conference will be held on Fri-
day at the Michigan League. Edel-
man's keynote address will begin at
3:30 p.m. The University School of
Social Work's Center on Poverty, Risk
and Mental Health, the Institute for
Research on Women and Gender and
the Chicago-based Center for Impact
Research will be sponsoring the event.
'Spice of life' to
be presented at
t botanical gardens
The natural history and social
implication of the everyday spices that
most of us take for granted will be
explored tomorrow by David Michen-
er, the assistant curator of the Univer-
sity's Matthaei Botanical Gardens.
Participants will learn about early
misconceptions regarding the use of
spices and will be able to taste and
smell the "botanical confections."
Some of the foods that will take center
stage include chocolate and its use in
cornmeal and as a beverage in milk, the
idiscovery of coffee and the social issues
of tea and its connection to opium.
The first of three discussions will be
tomorrow from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
There is a $58.50 registration fee for
members of the gardens and $65 for
non-members. Registration is required.
The Matthaei Botanical Gardens are
located at 1800 Dixboro Rd.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Shannon Pettypiece.
2 students settle dispute on
J
By Jennifer Misthal
For the Daily
"Judge Judy" is ready to rule today in a dispute
between two University students over damage to
a car during a party near campus this summer.
LSA junior Julia Koenigsknecht and Business
first-year student Matthew Brody will argue their
cases before television's Judge Judith Sheindlin
in an episode that airs at 4 p.m. today on Detroit's
WJBK-TV Channel 2.
While attending a party on July 2 at
Koenigsknecht's house, Brody parked his 1998
Volvo S70 in the driveway. Koenigsknecht lives
with one of Brody's friends.
"When I came outside to leave, her SUV was
parked touching my back bumper" Brody said.
"He parked in such a way that he was taking
up two spots. I had to pull up as close as possible
so my car didn't get hit from the street," said
Koenigsknecht, who drives a 1992 Ford Explorer.
Both parties admitted that there was a problem
and they exchanged phone numbers. Brody
promised to call the next day with a complete
assessment of the damage.
"I called Julia seven days after the incident
occurred. I worked full-time and it took me that
long to get an estimate on my car. Additionally,
the only Volvo body shop is over 30 minutes
away. I think that was actually very fast com-
pared to how long that can usually take," said
Brody.
"When I called her, she said that her dad is a
lawyer and told her that I couldn't prove any-
thing." lie also offers a dated statement sheet of
the estimate in his defense.
Koenigsknecht tells things a little differently.
"I didn't receive a phone call until two weeks
later. I had assumed that there was no problem
because it took so long for him to get back to me.
It came as such a shock to hear from him. Some-
one else could have made the damage worse,"
she said.
"I called my insurance company and they not
only agreed with me, but refused to pay for the
damages. After two weeks, who knows who
could have hit it?"
"Also, when she told me she would pay initial-
ly I didn't think she would argue like this about
how long it would take to get the estimate,"
Brody said. "Even if it had taken me six months,
she would still be legally responsible."
After filing a claim in Washtenaw County
Small Claims Court for 5300 in damages,
Brody's brother suggested submitting the story to
"Judge Judy."
"The story was just so ridiculous that I thought
it might be fun to try and present it to Judge
idge Judy'
Judy," said Brody.
"I was actually happy about the phone call
from 'Judge Judy,"' said Koenigsknecht.
A few days later, the show's producers contact-
ed Brody. Both students were invited out to Los
Angeles for a taping of the show and permitted to
bring one witness each. The episode was taped
this summer.
Koenigsknecht and Brody were prepped at the
studio and then their case was filmed. Including
the post-case interviews, the whole process was
relatively brief.
"Judge Judy asked for Matt's story, and didn't
let me say my side of the story. After that, I just
joked on the show. It wasn't real court; it wasn't
conducted in a real way. A real court asks for
both sides of the story," Koenigsknecht said.
Brody admitted Scheindlin was extremely
friendly to him but not to Koenigsknecht.
Both students said they enjoyed the perks of
the free trip the show gave them.
They received spending money and the show
promised to cover the costs for the damages.
RC 'commencement'
gets
Class of 20'05 started at 'U'
By Shawn Sion
For the Daily
JONAIHON iI-ftAM/Daily
James Dale, who was dismissed from the Boy Scouts in 1990 because he is
gay, speaks at an LGBT-sponsored brunch Saturday at the Aut Bar.
Gay Scout leader:
De-mand equality
Marked by Altoid mints and a directive to students to
live for the moment, the first RC "commencement" was
held Friday for the incoming Class of 2005.
RC alum Tim Prentiss introduced new students into an
environment where they will be encouraged to follow their
creative ambitions. Fie told students that within the Resi-
dential College they would be able to discover what is
interesting and important to them and would not feel
forced into one certain job track.
"Don't even think about getting a job," Prentiss said dur-
ing his commencement address, which marked the begin-
ning of college rather than the end. "Free your mind and
your arse will follow." He encouraged students to live in
the moment, follow their passions and to have what he
called "creative-radicality."
"Students in the RC come up with good ideas and we
like to let them go with them," said RC Director Charles
Bright.
Altoids were given out prior to the address and Prentiss
instructed the audience to shake them when they agreed
with what he was saying. After just about everything Pren-
tiss said, the loud rattling of Altoids showed the audience's
approval.
"Your passions will lead you into a job that you will
enjoy but they can easily change," Prentiss warned. "You
will be a different person in four years."
Although RC advisers are more then willing to discuss
possible jobs with students, Prentiss assured students that
they should not be worrying about their futures.
"Don't even think about getting a job." Prentiss repeated.
"Think about now, think about here.
"Our lives are not meant to be lived in fear. Live with
creative-radicality and have as much love as possible," he
said. "You've found a good place to do that"
Prentiss proposed a cross-generational learning program
"Your passions will lead you
into a job that you will enjoy
but they can easily change.
You will be a different person
in four years."
- Tim Prentiss
RC alum
in which adults and students within a 40-year RC commu-
nity can teach each other. That way, everybody in the com-
munity can learn about what is important to everybody
else, he said.
Prentiss also brought up the need for more money within
the RC. The Robertson Fund was set up to give out money
to exceptional RC seniors. Although "Robbie" awards have
been given out, he said, the amount of money is not really
enough.
"I'll volunteer to get rich and die," he joked. "But seri-
ously, if I had $5 million, I would be more then willing to
donate four to the RC."
A drama major, Prentiss found that there were plenty of
ways for him to make a living after graduating from the RC.
His drama skills paid off selling wine. Then after learning
to "speak geek," he began work as a computer consultant.
Now, Prentiss teaches classes ranging from computing,
scanning and web design to home beer brewing and even
juggling for elementary school students.
His web page, wwwelcottage.coma, offers online courses
in both web design and beer brewing.
"Online there is no limit to the classroom," he said, "I
could be teaching 1,000 students in one class and they
would all be paying me a decent amount of money."
By Karen Schwartz
Daily Staff Reporter
James Dale spent more than a
decade fighting what he alleged was
illegal discrimination after he was
dismissed as a Boy Scout troop
leader in 1990 for being gay. This
weekend he spoke at the Michigan
League and participated in a
fundraiser for the Office of Lesbian
Gay Bisexual and Transgender
Affairs 30-year anniversary, sharing
his story with the Ann Arbor com-
munity.
"It's a really good time to be talk-
ing about what America stands for,
what patriotism is and where civil
rights fit in with all of that," he said.
"People are starting to get involved,
trying to understand the issues and
that's what America is about - -con-
versation, standing up for the right
thing -- you have to be a part of it.
... You have to demand full equali-
ty; you won't always get it but we've
made incredible strides," Dale said.
Dale's case started in New Jersey,
eventually making its way to the
U.S. Supreme Court. On June 28,
2000, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4
that the Boy Scouts of America had
the right to keep homosexuals from
being troop leaders because of the
organization's rights to free expres-
sion and free association as a private
group.
Dale said he never thought it was
possible to lose in the Supreme
Court and still win, but he added
that he feels he has gained a victory
by bringing these issues to the fore-
front of public attention and making
people reconsider what kind of mes-
sages they're sending to today's chil-
dren.
"Since then, America has
responded and it has gone from an
issue about Boy Scouts to some-
thing bigger, how is America sup-
porting LGBT youth," he said. "I'm
happy I had a part in bringing about
a conversation but it's not about me,
it's about our kids and what's best
for America's youth. The success
we've had isn't about any one per-
son, it's about all of us"
The fundraiser was held at the
Aut Bar and raised more than $650,
which will be used to support 30th
Anniversary programming or staff
internship payment, said Frederic
MacDonald-Dennis, director of the
Office of LGBT Affairs.
MacDonald-Dennis also com-
mented on the importance of com-
munity education and the relevance
of Dale's case to current events on
campus.
"I think it's important for students
to know about civil rights and dis-
crimination and to educate the com-
munity about it," he said. "We
always try to bring interesting
speakers for exposure for students
and we thought he was a good one."
MacDonald-Dennis said that dis-
crimination in the Boy Scouts
strikes home especially now as
there's talk around campus about the
University's relation to the United
Way, which funds the organization.
Those opposing University ties to
the United Way say that having the
University connected to a group that
funds a discriminatory organization
goes against the school's non-dis-
crimination policy.
School of Social Work graduate
student Foula Dimopoulos said she
attended the fundraiser because she
believes in the safe space the Office
of LGBT Affairs provides for stu-
dents, faculty and staff that they
might not have otherwise and
because she wanted to support the
LGBT community.
Dimopoulos also said she thinks
James Dale's presence was impor-
tant because it brought a human
face to the discrimination many face
within the LGBT community.
"What impresses me the most is
that he went all the way to the
Supreme Court to challenge unfair
laws," she said. "Kids need heroes
and it shouldn't matter who their
heroes love or fall in love with."
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